Safeguarding the Surrogate

by Delores Fossen

  Or so she thought that was why.

  But then his mouth came to hers. Not for some chaste peck to comfort her. No. This was the real deal. A hot, hungry kiss. He parted her lips, tasting her. And she tasted him.

  Oh, mercy. Daniel tasted as good as he looked.

  Her body didn’t forget the danger or the murders. Didn’t forget that they had so much at stake. However, what he was doing to her kicked up the heat, turning it to a full blaze, and Kara let that fire slide through her. She wasn’t sure how Daniel could manage to get her to flash point with just a kiss, but he did it. For a few moments, he made her body burn and her mind cloud.

  He also made her want him more than her next breath.

  And then he stopped.

  He pulled back, looked down at her, and she could see the battle he was having with his own body. Could see something else, too.

  The disgust.

  Not for her but for himself. He hadn’t wanted to kiss her, and he sure as heck hadn’t wanted to feel this way. Welcome to the club. That kiss had just opened a box that probably should have stayed shut.

  Daniel continued to stare down at her, and she saw the regret building. And she also saw something else that she couldn’t quite decipher. Not until he spoke.

  “I’m going to have to move Sadie to a safe house.” Daniel said it fast as if ripping off a bandage from a still healing wound. “And you and I can’t go with her.”

  Everything inside her went still, and she took a moment to let that sink in. No, they couldn’t go with her. Because they would just carry the threat with them. Carry the threat to Sadie.

  Kara cleared her throat to make sure her voice would sound steady. “When will you take her?”

  “It needs to be now,” Daniel said, and he started for the stairs.

  Chapter Ten

  Daniel figured that kissing Kara was about the stupidest thing he could have done. He should have been keeping an emotional barrier between them and not skyrocketing the attraction. But he would have to kick himself for it later.

  For now, he had only one priority and that was to keep his daughter safe.

  While he made his way up the stairs to check on Sadie and the others, he called Leo, and was grateful that his brother answered on the first ring. “I want to move Sadie to a safe house right away.”

  Leo didn’t question that, and the demand probably wasn’t a surprise. The night before, Leo and he had had a phone conversation about this very possibility. Daniel had wanted to try the inn first, but that was for purely selfish reasons. He wanted to be with his little girl and have her close to his family. However, he couldn’t take that kind of risk, not with a gunman obviously knowing their location.

  “I’ll get everything ready,” Leo assured him. “I can be ready to leave in fifteen minutes.”

  He felt some of the tightness ease up in his chest. “Thanks.”

  Daniel took a moment to gather his breath and stopped in the hall to finish the conversation with Leo before going in to see Sadie. “Since Barrett and the other deputies are tied up right now, Kara and I will follow Noreen, Cybil, Sadie and you to the safe house. Maybe even Ellen, too, if I can talk her into going. That way, I can make sure the killer isn’t following you. Once we’re sure everything is okay at the safe house, then Kara and I will come back here.”

  Leo cursed. “You’re not trying to draw out the killer and make him come after you?”

  Kara had offered herself up to do just that, but if anyone was drawing out a killer, he would be the one to do it. Still, Daniel kept that to himself. “I just need to put some distance between Sadie and me.”

  “I get that, but it means Kara and you will be doing the return trip without backup.”

  Daniel hated to use Kara’s argument, but he would. He didn’t want to pull Cybil or Leo off protection detail for Sadie. “Kara’s an expert marksman.” At least she was if the gossips had gotten it right. “We’ll come straight back here from the safe house.”

  Which would only take about thirty minutes.

  However, it’d take them much longer to get to the safe house since they would essentially have to drive around to make sure no one was on their tails. That would mean Daniel missing the video interviews with their three suspects, but it couldn’t be helped.

  “I’ll be at the inn as soon as I can,” Leo finally said. His brother’s quick goodbye likely didn’t mean Leo was giving up his argument about Kara and him not having backup, but at least he wasn’t wasting any more time.

  Daniel found Cybil and Noreen sitting on the bathroom floor, and they’d put Sadie in the bathtub along with a stash of toys. She was playing and was thankfully unaware of the scare they’d just had.

  “Ellen’s in the room across the hall getting some books for Sadie,” Cybil explained. “I got a text from Barrett saying the gunman wasn’t around so I thought it was okay for her to leave the bathroom.”

  Daniel silently cursed himself for the reminder that Ellen was also in danger. “It’s okay,” he assured her as both Ellen and Kara stepped into the doorway. He was glad he had them all there because he wouldn’t have to repeat himself.

  “We’ll be leaving for a safe house in a few minutes,” Daniel explained. He looked at Sadie when she grinned at him, and it nearly broke his heart. Since she’d been born, he hadn’t gone a full day without seeing her, but that could change.

  And all because of a killer.

  “I’d like for you to go with them to the safe house,” he added to Ellen.

  The woman didn’t hesitate. Maybe because she’d just gotten the scare of her life with that gunman. “I’ll pack a bag,” Ellen said, hurrying off after she handed the children’s book she’d been holding to Kara.

  Kara took the book to Sadie, sat down on the edge of the tub and began thumbing through the pages with her.

  “Kara and I will follow the cruiser, but we’ll be coming back here to the inn. There’ll be some toiletries and some clothes at the safe house,” he went on, talking to Cybil now, “but if you need anything from your place, make a list.”

  “I have a bag in my SUV,” she said. “I wasn’t sure how long I’d be staying here at the inn so I packed one.”

  “Good thinking.” He was about to go with her to get it, but he thought of something. “Maybe I can drive your SUV to the safe house and then bring it back here?”

  “Of course,” she said, fishing out the keys from her pocket and handing them to him. She eyed him, though, with the same concern that Daniel suspected he’d get from Leo. “Kara and you will be careful,” she added as a reminder.

  Yeah, they would be, but it didn’t mean he could keep Kara out of harm’s way. She wouldn’t want that, though, if it came at Sadie’s expense.

  Now that everyone knew what was going on, Daniel took Noreen’s suitcase that hadn’t yet been unpacked, and he headed downstairs to wait for Leo. He didn’t have to wait long. Leo was pulling up in the cruiser at the back of the inn as Daniel made it into the kitchen. He disarmed the security just long enough to get Leo inside and made a sweeping glance around the yard.

  “You didn’t make a mistake bringing Sadie here,” Leo said right off. His brother had obviously picked up a lot from his tone over the phone. “We had to know how fast the killer would respond. Now, we know.”

  Yeah, now they knew. Or maybe they did. If the person on the roof had been the actual killer, then why hadn’t he taken a shot? Even getting off one shot could have done some damage. Or worse. It could have killed someone inside.

  Daniel doubted the shooter had simply changed his mind. No. It was more likely that he’d realized he had been spotted and hadn’t wanted to take the risk of being gunned down himself. After all, many people in Mercy Ridge carried some kind of weapon.

  At the sound of footsteps behind them, Leo and Daniel turned in that direction to see Kara coming
in. She exchanged a quick glance with Daniel, but apparently it wasn’t quick enough for Leo not to notice that something was, well, different between them. Leo lifted his eyebrow in a way that made Daniel realize that his brother was also picking up on his expressions.

  “Don’t ask,” Daniel warned him when Leo opened his mouth.

  Leo just shrugged and winked at Kara. His brother’s attempt to lighten things up, though, didn’t last. He got very serious when Noreen came into the room with Sadie. Cybil and Ellen were right behind them.

  “I can turn on the security system with my phone once we’re in the cruiser,” Ellen offered.

  Daniel nodded and was thankful for the feature. That way, someone wouldn’t be able to just sneak in and lie in wait while Kara and he were gone.

  “Get in the cruiser as fast as you can,” Daniel instructed them. “Kara and I will go out front and get in Cybil’s SUV.” He gave Sadie a kiss on the cheek, but he tried not to linger too long. He’d be able to say goodbye to her once they were at the safe house.

  Leo didn’t waste any time, either. He got Noreen, Ellen, Sadie and Cybil out the back door. Daniel waited until they were all inside the cruiser before he locked the back door and hurried to the front with Kara. He drew his gun and wasn’t surprised when Kara did the same. He set the lock on the door, and they ran.

  Daniel held his breath every step of the way from the inn’s front door to the cruiser, and he prayed Barrett was right about there not being any signs of the gunman having stuck around. Cybil’s SUV was in the front spot in the parking lot. Not far in distance but plenty far enough.

  Kara and he jumped into the SUV and had a couple of seconds to steady themselves before Leo drove out ahead of them. Daniel followed, knowing that he’d stay on edge every second of this trip. As they drove by the shops, both Kara and he glanced at each one. If there were going to be attack, Daniel hoped the person would come after Kara and him and leave the cruiser alone.

  “You told Leo that you kissed me?” Kara asked.

  Daniel did a mental double take at her question, and it took him a moment to realize that she was trying to ease the thick tension in the air. Of course, talk of kissing her wasn’t exactly a tension-breaking subject.

  “No, but I believe Leo guessed that’s what happened,” Daniel answered. Heck, maybe Leo thought it was more than just a kiss and that Kara and he were now lovers. Or soon would be.

  He wasn’t sure what to think of the small sound she made, and he couldn’t see her face to try to gauge her expression. Kara continued to look around, studying their surroundings.

  It didn’t take long for them to get out of town and onto the road that led to Daniel’s ranch, but he knew they wouldn’t be going there. Leo would drive past it and keep going for at least ten miles before he started a series of turns that would let them see if anyone was following them. It would be much easier to do that on a country road where the houses were few and far between.

  “The safe house can’t be linked to any of us,” Daniel explained, hoping to relieve her mind a little. Hoping, too, that the reminder would also give him some relief. “It’s a place the Marshals set up when they had someone going into witness protection. The witness moved out months ago, but the Marshals kept it in case they or we had to use it.”

  “So, the safe house is close?” she asked.

  “It’s in the county about twenty miles from here.” So, not nearly close enough, considering that’s where Sadie would be.

  When they drove by the road to his ranch, Daniel took another look around. He didn’t see anyone, but then his house wasn’t visible from here. However, he did see one of his ranch hands out in the pasture. He was on horseback and had a rifle sheathed in a saddle case. Obviously, the hand was on alert just as Kara and he were.

  They’d only gone about another mile when Daniel saw Leo tap his breaks. His attention immediately slashed to the road ahead. Nothing. But then he caught the blur of motion out of the corner of his eye.

  A woman.

  She was wearing jeans and a white top, and she was running through a pasture. She was throwing glances over her shoulder as if someone were in pursuit.

  “Who is that?” Kara asked, automatically moving closer to the window.

  “I don’t know,” he said.

  Just as the sound rang out. Daniel didn’t have to guess what the sound was.

  A gunshot.

  * * *

  KARA THOUGHT MAYBE her heart had stopped for a few seconds. It seemed as if everything stopped except for that horrible sound that had blasted through the air. Her breath stalled in the throat. Her muscles froze. Still, her first thought was that Sadie could be hurt.

  She forced herself to remain calm and checked their surroundings. The shot hadn’t gone into the cruiser. Not into the SUV, either. But it had hit something else. Kara watched as the bright red blood spread across the running woman’s back. She stumbled, nearly fell, but she regained her balance and kept on running. Kara could see the sheer terror on the woman’s face.

  And the woman saw them, too.

  Despite her obvious injury, she started running toward the cruiser and the SUV.

  Another shot came, and Kara fought her way through the shock to try to pinpoint the location of the shooter. She thought maybe he was in the thick woods on the other side of the road. But she couldn’t see him. And he’d almost certainly be out of range of their handguns. She was pretty sure whoever was firing those shots was using a rifle.

  With his gun ready, Daniel took out his phone and pressed in Leo’s number. “Keep going,” he told Leo the moment he was on the line. He slowed to a stop on the narrow gravel shoulder of the road and used the phone to motion for Kara to move lower onto the seat. “Get Sadie out of here now.”

  “What are you going to do?” Leo demanded.

  “I’m going to try to save that woman,” Daniel answered without pausing a beat. “Call Barrett and get me some backup out here. Call my ranch hands, too, since they can get here faster. But hit the accelerator and keep going.”

  Kara doubted that Leo wanted to leave his brother and her behind, but he was in charge of precious cargo so he did just as Daniel asked. Kara did drop lower in the seat, but only a couple of inches so she could still keep watch. From over the dashboard, she saw the cruiser speed away.

  “You stay down,” Daniel warned her, and he hit the latch to put her seat in a near reclining position.

  “I can’t give you backup like this,” she reminded him.

  “You’re not leaving this SUV,” he insisted.

  With Daniel’s gaze firing into the woods where the shooter no doubt was, he practically climbed over Kara to get to the door on her side. Once he had it open, he got out, his boots thudding when they hit the gravel. The SUV itself would give him some cover, but he could still be shot. Especially if he did what Kara believed he would do.

  He was going out into that pasture to rescue the woman.

  “Help me,” the woman called out.

  Kara risked looking at her, and the thin brunette was still coming toward them. Not fast, though, and she was stumbling now and weaving around. Maybe because of the blood loss or the shock of the gunshot wound. She still couldn’t clearly see the woman’s face, but Kara had to consider the worst-case scenario.

  That this attack was connected to the surrogates.

  Another shot blasted through the air, causing the woman to scream. The sound turned Kara’s blood to ice, and she wasn’t sure she could just sit there and let the woman be killed.

  “Stay put,” Daniel warned her one last time.

  Even though there was another blast, he crouched down some and started making his way to the woman. Kara eased up in the seat just enough to watch them. She also lifted her gun, and her gaze snapped toward the woods when there was another shot. So far, none of the bullets had gone into the SUV
, but that could change once he hit his target.

  The woman.

  This brunette was clearly the one he wanted because Kara could see the bullets kicking up the dirt around her. Unfortunately, Daniel was headed right into the path of those shots. At the moment, he might not be the shooter’s primary target, but that could change.

  The next shot landed even closer than the others. So close that Daniel had to shield his eyes because of the debris from it that flew into his face. He still hadn’t reached the woman, and worse, she’d stopped. She was obviously struggling just to stay on her feet.

  God, she could be dying. Bleeding to death.

  And the shots just kept coming.

  Kara had had enough. This time it wasn’t fear that sliced through her but rage. No way would Daniel approve of what she was doing, but she needed to create a diversion if he had any chance of rescuing the woman.

  She leaned over, rolled down the window of the SUV took aim at the area where she thought the shooter was. Even though she seriously doubted she could actually hit the gunman from this distance, she fired, anyway.

  Then she fired again. And again.

  The sound from her own shots was deafening in the small space of the SUV, and it caused a sharp pain to pierce through her ears. It was hard to hear, but she didn’t miss that the gunman hadn’t fired any shots. That’s why she sent another two bullets in his direction.

  Kara prayed that it had caused him to go on the run even though she would have preferred to stop this monster. She wanted to confront him. But that would have to wait. For now, Daniel and this injured woman had to come first.

  “Get down!” Daniel shouted, and Kara was certain he meant that for her.

  She did get down but not before she shifted her attention to check on Daniel. The woman was still on her feet. Not for long, though. Kara watched as she crumpled and fell to the ground.

  “Call an ambulance,” Daniel yelled.